Niko Partners launched in 2002 when founder Lisa Cosmas Hanson built a baseline study on the Chinese games market when no such study existed.

The Chinese market was a vast unknown and by Niko’s estimates had a value of $100 million, but was growing at a notable pace – and Chinese companies were developing very different games that better matched the interests of a population of 1.3 billion. Today, the market is worth more than $25 billion and Niko Partners has tracked the trends and forecasted the growth every step of the way. Clients clamored for information on Southeast Asia as early as 2010, and now that region is the fastest growing digital games market in the world. In 2017 we introduce research on the market of Taiwan, and we will continue to build our geographic coverage to forge the path for our clients to succeed.

Lisa Cosmas HansonFounder and Managing Partner

Lisa is the Managing Partner and Founder of Niko Partners. Her responsibility includes client relations, research & analysis, business development, operations, and partnerships. Lisa founded Niko Partners in 2002 and has since honed her expertise on the Chinese and Southeast Asian online games industries that has benefitted Niko’s clients, companies that are global leaders in game publishing, game services, hardware, and investments. She is based in the US but travels to China regularly.

Xiaofeng ZengCountry Director, China

Xiaofeng is Niko’s Senior Analyst based in Shanghai. He has worked for Niko for nearly 10 years. He has more than 15 years of research and analysis experience, expertise in data modeling and data collection, and is bilingual in Mandarin and English. Xiaofeng manages Niko’s China focus groups, database of 2.0 million Chinese consumers, and research collection process. A hardcore gamer, Xiaofeng is the chief liaison with Niko’s China-based technology partners and the primary local contact for our clients based in China.

Daniel AhmadAnalyst

Daniel Ahmad is an analyst at Niko Partners. He is currently responsible for creating the Value Added News Service (VANA) contributing to the Niko Partners research projects, and writing blog posts and articles for a vast following of readers under the username @ZhugeEX where he tweets about the state of the games industry, as well as for @nikochina. Daniel is often quoted in major news and gaming publications such as Business Insider, VentureBeat, PC Gamer, IGN & Gamespot. Prior to joining Niko Partners, Daniel had several years experience working in the mobile industry.

Michele MaguireBusiness Development

Michele is responsible for business development and corporate strategy for Niko Partners. She is a global business development executive and former Director of GDC, Gamasutra.com and Game Advertising Online. Michele has 10+ years experience in M+A and international business development. “Niko Partners was my subject matter expert when I needed to understand the game industry in China and remains the most respected source of expert data and advice for companies going to China, and Southeast Asia.”

Edward ShiAnalyst

Edward is an Analyst based in Shanghai. He has worked for Niko for more than 8 years. He has more than 10 years of research and analysis experience, and previously worked in Shanghai for Ubisoft, NetEase, the Shanghai Multimedia Software Association, and other major game industry players. He has managed Niko’s surveys and interviews, and currently aggregates the Chinese news as well as managing Niko’s social media in China. He is bilingual in Mandarin and English, and a hardcore gamer.

Tyler SycamoreSoutheast Asia Analyst

Tyler is the Southeast Asia Analyst for Niko Partners. Tyler is biligual in English and Thai, and has worked as a consultant for Thailand-based clients for the past 11 years. Tyler has dual masters degrees in International Business Management Administration and International Affairs, specializing in business and development economics in the APAC region. Previously, Tyler was COO of a technology investment firm and has worked with multi-national clients such as the U.S. government, Lehman Brothers, Coca-Cola, and ING Capital

Clients

We provide critical strategic information to the world’s leading game publishers and developers, hardware makers, institutional investors, management consulting firms, trade associations and policy makers – all of whom have a vested interest in a thorough understanding of the games industry in China and Southeast Asia.

I’ve had a fantastic experience working with Niko Partners over the past 3 years. Their research covering the APAC PRC region has not only been outstanding; but so is their client customer service.

Matt Ployhar, Lead Games Evangelist and Planner - Intel, Board of Directors - Open Gaming Alliance

We found Niko Partners to be the flat-out best research available about the Chinese market. They helped us hone our strategy and gave us insights into the market that were really helpful in finding the right partners in China. We found them easy to work with, and extremely helpful when we had specific questions. I wouldn't even think about entering the Chinese market without using Niko.